Dan’s Daily: McDavid’s SCF Rant; Penguins Changes and Loss

The Pittsburgh Penguins made changes to the power play and lineup with the reintegration of defenseman Erik Karlsson on Saturday. The team finally has an off day today but will need to make another personnel decision or two to get to the required 23-man roster after they lost defenseman John Ludvig on Saturday. We also got the Ryan Graves checklist from both Graves and coach Mike Sullivan, as well as what the big D-man needs to do differently this season.

Elsewhere in the Daily, the NHL trade chatter is already beginning in Toronto; the NHL docu-series showed a pretty good Connor McDavid tirade during the Stanley Cup Final. The New Jersey Devils swept the Prague series, which means the Buffalo Sabres were swept, and that’s good and bad news for the Penguins.

I don’t talk much about Pitt because it’s one of my true fandoms (Pitt, F1, Indy, and Alabama lawn tractor demolition derby), but hot damn. Eli Holstein is the best QB at Pitt since Kenny Pickett and is quickly joining that lineage of Pickett, Palko, Gonzalez, Van Pelt, and Marino. I don’t care if Pitt needs to take a second mortgage on the Tower to pay his NIL–do it.

The Penguins finally have an off day on Sunday, and I’m going to be stuck on the laptop waiting for the final roster. I suspect Valtteri Puustinen is going to have a new home, though he didn’t have a great preseason. (Columbus? Washington could use a right-side boost in their top nine. Vegas has some injuries and might want a short-term boost, too). I do think we’re in for a little surprise transaction or two as the Penguins decide to keep Rutger McGoarty.

I have some predictions that I’ll share later this morning.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Ryan Graves. It would be pretty tough to praise last season and tougher still to assume the issues that relegated him to the press box will just vanish. We asked coach Mike Sullivan, and we asked Graves, what does Graves need to do to? We got some in-depth answers from the Penguins locker room.

Sullivan has been in a chipper mood recently. When asked about Erik Karlsson, Sullivan even cracked a joke, “He was on a golf podcast I listen to–he said he’d be ready for the first game, so, that’s my answer.” Karlsson had a lot more to say about his health, how it happened, and the power play. Erik Karlsson speaks.

Good news or bad, pending your perspective, but the Penguins were able to keep Sam Poulin and five others as they cleared waivers. However, John Ludvig was claimed.

Steelers Now: Rich Gegick is our betting expert on the network. He delivered the latest DraftKings promo and three reasons to bet the Steelers OVER 9.5 wins.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Now that the dust has settled, the top three takeaways from the Pittsburgh Pirates season.

I remember the attempted boycott of the Pirates a few years ago. People gathered outside, but FOMO took over. Seriously, what are you going to miss? I think it’s about time for a new boycott–one game–NO ONE goes except a few people with a four-letter banner: SELL.

You thought it was going to be four different letters, didn’t you?

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

TSN: Connor McDavid let loose fiery language and challenges inside the locker room after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. The new Amazon documentary has some pretty intense footage. I enjoyed seeing it, and I think fans will enjoy knowing that stuff is said.

Detroit Hockey Now: We wish him the best. Goalie Jack Campbell has had a rough couple of seasons. The Detroit Red Wings goalie has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

The Athletic ($): William Nylander’s experiment at center is ending. A $3 million defenseman is going to the press box. And the NHL trade chatter is there. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still putting it together.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Some drama surrounding a PTO–I don’t recall seeing this before, but Kevin Labanc signed a PTO with New Jersey. When it came time to sign a contract, he went elsewhere. The Columbus Blue Jackets swiped Labanc from the Devils.

Two games in Czechia, two wins for the Devils. Get the recap and the big-time takeaways from the Devils win.

Buffalo Hockey Now: It was bad enough to lose a pair of games across the pond, but the injuries mounted to key players. Here’s the full scoop on the winless and wounded Buffalo Sabres.

Montreal Hockey Now: WiFi tossin’ bombs again. In the final preseason game, Montreal Canadien’s defenseman Arber Xhekaj and Zack MacEwan threw down. Check it out–here’s the Xhekaj fight.

Philly Hockey Now: The Philadelphia Flyers have added some very exciting players. And I mean talented, exciting, and young. Matvei Michkov-mania is sweeping Philly, but GM Daniel Briere snapped up another talent at 13th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he’s going to make the team after turning 18 in August. Check out the deets on Jett Luchanko.